Friday, August 26, 2016

Paleo-Orthodoxy: An Introduction to Demonology

A
demon
is a spiritual being of angelic nature eternally damned. A demon
possesses no body. Nor is there in his being any kind of subtle matter
or anything remotely resembling matter. A demon is of an entirely
spiritual nature of existence. In Greek pneuma is literally the word for breath or spirit. Since demons possess no body, they
do not feel the slightest inclination to any sin that is committed
with the body. Therefore gluttony or sexual lust are impossible in
them. They may tempt men to sin in these ways, but only include those
sins in a purely intellectual way, because they have no bodily senses
as we do. This may account for the fact that all sin begins as a
thought- a suggestion in the mind- an intellectual seed. The sins of
demons, therefore, are exclusively spiritual.

Origins

God
originally created all of the angels, some of which later became
demons by rebellion against God.

“All
things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that
was made.” -John 1:3

“For
by Him were all things created, that are in Heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions,
or principalities, or powers; all things were created by Him and for
Him.”-Colossians 1:16

Demons
were originally like the other angels of God, with the same
attributes and positions as the good angels described in Chapter
Three. When Satan rebelled against God, a portion of the angels
participated in his rebellion. God cast them out of Heaven, along
with Satan. They were no longer good angels. They became evil
spiritual beings (demons):

“And
there was war in Heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the
dragon (Satan); and the dragon fought and his angels. And prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in Heaven. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and
his angels were cast out with him.” -Revelation 12:7-9

If
demons are not "fallen" angels, then we have no other
Biblical explanation for their existence. Satan cannot create his own
forces, because all things were created by God and no other being has
the same creative ability or power.

There
are two groups of these fallen angels.

One
group is actively opposing God and His people on earth. Another is
confined in chains:

“For
if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to Hell,
and delivered them into chains of darkness to be reserved unto
judgment...”- II Peter 2:4

“And
the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own
habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness
unto the judgment of the great day.” -Jude 6

There
are confined demons and active demons. The leader of both groups is
Satan, who is called the "prince" of devils (Matthew
12:24). As noted previously, hell is prepared for the Satan and
his angels.

“Then
shall He (Jesus) say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me,
ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his
angels.” -Matthew 25:41

When
Christ confronted two men possessed by demons, their response was:

“And
behold, they cried out, “What have you to do with us, O Son of God?
Have you come here to torment us before the time?” - Matthew
8:29

The
demons in the possessed men knew their final destiny was a place of
eternal torment. Since Hell is a place of torment and was prepared
for Satan and his angels, then demons must be the fallen angels.

Sphere
of Activity

Throughout
Sacred Scripture, demons are shown as active on earth. Since Satan is
not omnipresent, he uses demons to do his will and accomplish his
purposes throughout the world. They constitute the "powers of
the air" (Ephesians 2:2) and the "powers of
darkness" (Colossians 1:13) and are all under the control
of Satan.

Attributes

In
their original sinless condition, demons had the same attributes as
the good angels. In their present evil and rebellious state these
demons:

Are
spirits: Matthew 8:16; Luke 10:17, 20

Can
appear visibly: Genesis 3:1; Zechariah 3:1; Matthew 4:9-10

Can
speak: Mark 5:9, 12; Luke 8:28; Matthew 8:31 Believe: James 2:19

Exercise
their wills: Luke 11:24; 8:32

Demonstrate
intelligence: Mark 1:24

Have
emotions: Luke 8:28; James 2:19

Have
recognition: Acts 19:15

Have
supernatural strength: Acts 19:16; Mark 5:3

Have
supernatural presence: Daniel 9:21-23

Are
eternal: Matthew 25:41

Have
their own doctrine: I Timothy 4:1-3

Are
evil: Matthew 10:1; Mark 1:27; 3:11

The
Names of Demons

Demons
are called evil spirits six times and unclean spirits 23 times in the
New Testament. They are also called devils (Mark 1:32) and the
devil's angels (Matthew 25:41). In addition the apocryphal
Book of Enoch gives the names of a number of other angels who fell
separately from the rebellion of Satan. I include these only because
you may encounter demons using these names and not because there is
any truth to the Book of Enoch. This is not an endorsement of the
Book of Enoch. As noted before, demons will often lie about their
identity to avoid giving the exorcist any information whereby the
demon may be expelled more easily.

They
are:

Shemyaza-Taught
the occult science of root cuttings and enchantments.

Azaziel-Taught
the making of weapons, use of makeups, dyes, precious metals and
stones.

Sometimes it is helpful to know the name of the demon
you are confronting. Knowing a name gives one a certain insight and
power over the entity not otherwise held. Many demons will take the
name of a particular sin, such as lust or hate, while others may
pretend to be someone historical, such as Hitler or Cain. Keep in
mind that these names should not be taken at face value, but should
be looked at for clues as to how the demonic entity gained entry.

Demonic
Organization

Satan
is an imitator, not an originator. He has organized his demons in a
structure similar to that of God's forces.

“For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.” -Ephesians 6:12

Satan
has organized his forces into:

Principalities:
A principality is the territory or jurisdiction of a prince. Satan
has placed a prince over each principality. The prince of the power
of Persia is mentioned in Daniel 10. This is how Satan works
on a national level influencing governments and nations.

Powers
and rulers of darkness of this world: These two categories of
demons are at work in the social, political, and cultural systems of
the world.

Spiritual
wickedness in high places: High places in the Old Testament were
where worship was carried on. This is how Satan works in the
religious structures of the world. These organized
groups vary in size. For example, Mary Magdalene had seven demons in
her prior to her deliverance. Luke 8:30 mentions a "legion"
of demons. A legion in the Roman army which ruled at the time of
Jesus referred to 6,100 foot soldiers and 726 horsemen!
In the case of the demon possessed man recorded in Luke 8:30
the demons were united in their purpose, which in this example was
possession of the man. The same is true in Matthew 12:45 and
in the case of Mary Magdalene who had seven demons (Luke 16:9).
Jesus Christ spoke of the unity of demon powers when He said:

“And
if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall
then his kingdom stand?” -Matthew 12:26

Additionally,
it is important to note that demons...

Vary
in Abilities and Wickedness

That
demons have varying levels of power is illustrated by the demon who
said he would return with other evil spirits.

“When
the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry
places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then he saith, I will return
into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth
it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth he and taketh with himself
seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and
dwell there: And the last state of that man is worse than the
first... “-Matthew 12:43-45

Change
Functions

The
demon in I Kings 22:21-23 declared he would be a lying spirit.
This indicates he was not one previously for he said "I
will be...". We often find that demons change their
functions during the process of exorcism in order to confuse the
presbyter as to who he is dealing with.

Are
of Different Kinds

Sacred
Scriptures teach that man has a body, soul and spirit. There are
three major kinds of demons that attack the body and spirit of man.

Evil
or unclean spirits: They are responsible for immoral acts,
unclean thoughts, oppression, possession, depression, and other
strategies of Satan which we will study later. They afflict the mind
and actions. (Matthew 10:1; 12:43; Mark 1:23-26)

Seducing
spirits: Seducing spirits afflict the mind and spirit of man,
influencing him to believe false doctrines as indicated in I
Timothy 4:1. These spirits seduce people to believe a lie and be
damned to eternal punishment. They are spirits of false doctrine,
cults, false Christs, and false teachers.

Activities

Demons
follow orders given by their prince, Satan. We can summarize the
activities of demons by noting that they are always directed against
God, against His Kingdom, against our Salvation, and His Church.
Satan uses his demons to accomplish this strategy throughout
the world. Demons extend Satan's power by promoting deception and
wickedness. They affect individuals, governments, nations, and the
world system. They promote rebellion and slander of both God and men.
They promote idolatry, false doctrines, false religions, slanders,
and blind people to the truth of the Gospel. Demons attack
unbelievers driving them to commit the most vile acts, to murder,
injure, commit suicide, etc. They affect the mind with emotional and
psychological problems and the body with physical infirmities. Demons
attack Christians by diabolic temptation, obsession, deception,
depression, and oppression. They try to keep you in bondage to habits
and fear. They accuse and slander you and create division in the
Church. They target your spiritual walk with God and fight against
the Church. They also attack your physical body.

Unbelievers
are defenseless against the attacks of demonic powers, but Christians
have powerful spiritual weapons on their side in the forms of prayer,
daily devotions, reading and memorization of Scripture, and the
Sacraments.

Demons and Time

Though angels are created beings that do not die, they do experience the passing of time, as all created beings do. Some theologians say they do not experience material or temporal time as we do, but a unique type of time known in Latin as aevum. This type of time is an experience only of a succession of acts of understanding and will. In this conception of aevum time, reason and will occur causing a before and after only as they apply to intellect and desire, or an act of wanting something. This is the only sense in which they experience time, since a before and after implies time. It is not an ever present "now", as God is the only Being Who is timeless.